Jakarta –
No one can predict the journey of life. At least, this is what Satria Gunawan Suharno, owner of the House of Tea business, which operates in the tea making sector, feels. Imagine, Gunawan, who was pursuing his profession as a pilot, had to change gears to become a tea farmer.
The story is interesting. From initially producing mass types of tea, now Gunawan and his House of Tea produce quality specialty tea, aka artisan tea. Artisan tea is known as tea that is prepared from high quality raw materials and combined with other natural ingredients such as herbs, flowers and fruit.
Gunawan himself never thought of becoming a tea farmer. In 1985, he started working on tea because he had to continue his parents’ business. Even though he was previously a pilot.
“I went into farming, actually, disaster brings blessings. That’s what I felt, because of what? Because my education is not agricultural, but my background is as a pilot. I was a helicopter pilot specialist at that time,” said Gunawan, written on Saturday (9/9/ 2023).
He admitted that it took him several years to truly love tea. The turning point was in 1987, when Gunawan had to handle a tea export contract to Italy. “From there, day after day we have to deal with tea plants and tea production,” he said.
Intense interactions with buyers from a number of countries who really understand tea forced Gunawan to delve further into the world of tea.
Over time, he noticed something unique about tea. The unique thing, according to him, is that one tea plant can be processed into various variants. This is where his love for tea began to emerge. From the beginning it was forced, now it has become love.
“At first I wasn’t interested, until I started loving and getting to know tea,” said Gunawan.
In 2009, Gunawan started trying to get into artisan tea, and is still doing it to this day. Initially, he marketed this artisan tea to a limited circle, such as his family and friends.
After seeing that there was promising market potential, Gunawan founded his own business, House of Tea, in 2011. Four years later, in 2015, the House of Tea cafe was founded, located in the Gandaria Selatan area, South Jakarta.
“Thank God, now the House of Tea is standing on its own. The House of Tea is more about developing small farmers,” said Gunawan.
House of Tea produces tea from tea plantations in several areas such as Cianjur, West Java; Solok, West Sumatra; Batam, Riau Islands; and Kulon Progo, DI Yogyakarta. Gunawan admitted that he did not have an inch of land on which to plant tea plants. He chose to invite farmers to partner.
Continue to next page.
(fdl/fdl)
2023-09-09 12:00:03
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